Category Archives: Cancer research

Trial to test if cannabis-based mouth spray can treat brain tumours

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First such study in the world aims to find out if Sativex combined with chemotherapy can help treat glioblastoma

Cancer charities and the NHS are preparing to investigate whether a cannabis-based mouth spray can treat brain tumours and help patients to live longer.

Doctors will give patients across the UK with a recurrent brain tumour called a glioblastoma the drug, which is known as Sativex, alongside a chemotherapy medication – temozolomide – in a clinical trial in an attempt to kill off cancerous cells.

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Drug may help more women survive hereditary breast cancer

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International trials of olaparib were stopped early as benefits of ‘groundbreaking’ drug became clear

Women with hereditary breast cancer, triggered by the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, stand a better chance of survival following successful trials of a drug that cuts the likelihood of the cancer returning after treatment.

A major trial carried out by academic researchers to see whether olaparib can prevent recurrence was stopped early – after two-and-a-half years instead of the planned 10 years – when the benefits of the drug became clear.

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Scientists launch search for genetic test to spot killer prostate cancer

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Gene-screening, as is used to detect some breast cancer risks, could save thousands of lives

Scientists have begun work to create a prostate cancer screening service for the UK. In a few years, middle-aged men could be tested to reveal their genetic susceptibility to the condition, with those deemed to be under significant threat of developing it being offered treatment or surgery.

The service would tackle a disease that has become the nation’s most commonly diagnosed cancer and would parallel Britain’s breast cancer screening programme. Every year, more than 47,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer: 129 a day on average. More than 11,500 deaths from the disease occur each year, with one in eight men being diagnosed with prostate cancer at some time in their lives.

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Early findings show new drug could be ‘gamechanging’ for brain cancer treatment

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Using ipatasertib, researchers say some brain cancers could potentially be made vulnerable to immunotherapy agent

Two people with advanced brain cancer of the sort that led to the death of the MP Tessa Jowell have responded well in a small trial to an experimental combination of chemo and immunotherapy drugs. In one case, the life-threatening tumour seems to have disappeared.

Doctors at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden hospital in London cautioned that this was very early research but said it was unusual to have such a good response in patients in an early trial.

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The epic battle with cancer’s ‘Death Star’

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Forty years after the mutant genes that cause the deadliest cancers were discovered, drugs that target them could be approved

In the early 1980s, Channing Der was just beginning his career as a scientist at Harvard Medical School when he happened upon a discovery that would change the course of cancer research. At the time, the holy grail of cancer biology was discovering so-called oncogenes – genetic switches that can turn a normal cell into a cancer cell – in the genomes of tumours. But while teams of scientists had thrown everything at it for the best part of a decade, their efforts had proved fruitless. One by one, they were beginning to accept that it might be a dead end.

Der found himself assigned to test 20 different genes that had been identified as possible oncogene candidates. His question was simple: did any of them actually exist in tumours in a form that was different from normal cells?

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How race to track mystery gene with links to three cancers saved millions

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25 years ago, a mutation was discovered that makes some people susceptible to the disease, and now it has transformed treatment

Ten years ago, Tony Herbert developed a lump on the right side of his chest. The clump of tissue grew and became painful and he was tested for breast cancer. The result was positive.

“I had surgery and chemotherapy and that worked,” he said last week. But how had Herbert managed to develop a condition that is so rare in men? Only about 400 cases of male breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK compared with around 55,000 in women. A genetic test revealed the answer. Herbert had inherited a pathogenic version of a gene called BRCA2 and this mutation had triggered his condition.

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Curing the incurable: teaching an old drug new tricks to fight ovarian cancer

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The winning essay in the Max Perutz science writing award 2020 was written by Sarah Taylor from the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh

In May, PhD students who are funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) were invited to enter the Max Perutz science writing award 2020 and to tell the general public “why your research matters”. From the many entries received, the 10 that made the shortlist covered diverse topics, including motor neurone disease, self-harm, babies’ experiences of pain, and bone loss resulting from space travel.

The essays were judged by the Observer’s Ian Tucker, the Science Museum’s Roger Highfield, Prof Fiona Watt from the MRC, Bristol University’s Andy Ridgeway and the journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed.

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Researchers say blood test can detect cancer years before symptoms

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Team based in China develop test that identifies cancers up to four years before signs appear

A blood test can pick up cancers up to four years before symptoms appear, researchers say, in the latest study to raise hopes of early detection.

A team led by researchers in China say the non-invasive blood test – called PanSeer – detects cancer in 95% of individuals who have no symptoms but later receive a diagnosis.

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Cancer Research UK to cut funding for research by £44m

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UK’s biggest cancer charity expects income to fall by up to 25% as a result of the coronavirus crisis

The UK’s biggest cancer charity is cutting research funding by £44m because of a sharp fall in income and has acknowledged that the move could set back the fight against the disease for many years.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK), which funds nearly half of the cancer research in the country, said it was the most difficult decision it had ever taken but explained that it believed limiting spending now would enable it to continue to support life-saving research in the long-run.

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New blood test can detect 50 types of cancer

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System uses machine learning to offer new way to screen for hard-to-detect cancers

A new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer has been revealed by researchers in the latest study to offer hope for early detection.

The test is based on DNA that is shed by tumours and found circulating in the blood. More specifically, it focuses on chemical changes to this DNA, known as methylation patterns.

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AI program could check blood for signs of lung cancer

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Scientists hope that if software passes trials it could boost screening rates

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence program that can screen people for lung cancer by analysing their blood for DNA mutations that drive the disease.

The software is experimental and needs to be verified in a clinical trial, but doctors are hopeful that if it proves its worth at scale, it will boost lung cancer screening rates by making the procedure as simple as a routine blood test.

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Second person ever to be cleared of HIV reveals identity

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Adam Castillejo, known as the London patient, goes public to give hope to others with illness

The second person ever to be cleared of HIV has revealed his identity, saying he wants to be an “ambassador of hope” to others with the condition.

Adam Castillejo, the so-called London patient, was declared free of HIV last year, 18 months after stopping antiretroviral therapy following a stem cell – or bone marrow – transplant to treat blood cancer.

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‘Electronic nose’ could smell breath to warn about higher risk of oesophageal cancer

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Current diagnostic method for Barrett’s oesophagus relies on invasive and costly endoscopy

An electronic device that “sniffs” breath may offer a new way to identify people with a condition that can lead to cancer of the oesophagus, researchers have revealed.

Recent figures suggest there are about 9,000 new cases of oesophageal cancer, or cancer of the food pipe, every year in the UK.

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Firms making billions from ‘highly hazardous’ pesticides, analysis finds

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Use of harmful chemicals is higher in poorer nations, according to data analysed by Unearthed

The world’s biggest pesticide companies make billions of dollars a year from chemicals found by independent authorities to pose high hazards to human health or the environment, according to an analysis by campaigners.

The research also found a higher proportion of these highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) in the companies’ sales in poorer nations than in rich ones. In India, 59% of sales were of HHPs in contrast to just 11% in the UK, according to the analysis.

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They’re the pants that I want: buyer pays $405,700 for Olivia Newton-John’s Grease outfit

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Actor’s famous black trousers and leather jacket sold at auction along with other memorabilia, raising $2.4m

Olivia Newton-John’s tight black trousers and leather jacket from the movie Grease have sold for $405,700 at a Beverly Hills auction, more than double the expected price.

The outfit that marked the transition of Newton-John’s character in the 1978 musical from demure high schooler to sexy Sandy was among 500 items for sale at Julien’s Auctions to help raise money for the performer’s cancer treatment centre in Australia.

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Breast cancer risk from using HRT is ‘twice what was thought’

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Study prompts medicines regulator to advise all women using HRT to remain vigilant

The risk of breast cancer from using hormone replacement therapy is double what was previously thought, according to a major piece of research, which confirms that HRT is a direct cause of the cancer.

The findings of the definitive study will cause concern among the 1 million women in the UK and millions more around the world who are using HRT. It finds that the longer women take it, the greater their risk, with the possibility that just one year is risk-free. It also finds that the risk does not go away as soon as women stop taking it, as had been previously assumed.

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Rich nations could end cervical cancer within decades, say experts

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Study shows HPV vaccine has greatly reduced infections among girls and young women

Elimination of cervical cancer in wealthy countries such as the UK may be possible within decades, say experts, following a major study showing the success of the HPV jab in protecting women.

Human papilloma virus, which is sexually transmitted, can cause cervical cancer as well as anogenital warts. Data from high-income countries shows vaccination has led to an 83% reduction in HPV infections in 15- to 19-year-old girls over five to eight years. Among women aged 20 to 24, infections are down 66%.

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‘People are dying horrible deaths’: the Louisiana town where cancer haunts the streets – video

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Residents of the town on the banks of the Mississippi River have watched as family members and neighbors have been lost to cancer. Official figures show the risk of cancer from toxic air is 50 times higher in Reserve than the national average. Feeling neglected by politicians, they are fighting back against the chemical plant has been emitting chloroprene into the air for half a century

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